Key telephone apparatus with call distribution function

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a key telephone apparatus which includes a key telephone main unit which accommodates a plurality of extension terminals each having a display via extensions and is connected to a network via an office line, and has an ACD function of forming a group of the plurality of extension terminals, and selectively distributing an incoming call received from the network to the plurality of extension terminals belonging to the group to receive the incoming call. The key telephone main unit includes a processing condition management unit for monitoring the processing condition of the incoming call by the automatic call distribution function, and storing data indicating the processing condition, and a display control unit for receiving a predetermined processing condition display request output from one of the plurality of extension terminals, generating display data for displaying the data indicating the processing condition stored in the processing condition management unit, and supplying the display data to the extension terminal as the display request source to be displayed on the display of the extension terminal.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/518,711, filed Aug.24, 1995.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improvement in a key telephoneapparatus comprising an ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) function.

2. Description of the Related Art

As is well known, in recent years, digital key telephone apparatuseswith an ACD function have become popular. In the ACD function, aplurality of extension terminals constitute a single ACD group, andincoming calls from a network corresponding to the ACD group are equallydistributed to the plurality of extension terminals in the ACD group.With this ACD function, a digital key telephone apparatus can preventincoming calls from being concentrated on a specific extension terminal,and can efficiently process incoming calls.

In this case, one representative number is normally assigned to a singleACD group. For this reason, the calling party dials this representativenumber to call a target extension terminal in the ACD group.

In such a digital key telephone apparatus with the ACD function, asupervisor is set in advance in the ACD group, and monitors, e.g., theprocessing conditions of incoming calls to the extension terminals inthe ACD group. Based on the monitor result, the supervisor assists anincoming call processing job to be executed by, e.g., an agent of theACD group, and manages the operating condition of the digital keytelephone apparatus.

However, conventional monitor means, which is used by the supervisor tomonitor the ACD group, is realized by connecting an informationmanagement apparatus comprising, e.g., a personal computer to the mainunit of the digital key telephone apparatus via a special-purposeconnection unit. The supervisor acquires and totalizes informationrequired for monitoring from the main unit of the digital key telephoneapparatus by operating the information management apparatus, and managesthe ACD function on the basis of the totalized result.

For this reason, in the conventional digital key telephone apparatuswith the monitor means of the ACD function, since the informationmanagement apparatus and its special-purpose connection unit must beseparately equipped, the system size and cost increase. In addition, aspecial-purpose program, control data, and the like must be input to theinformation management apparatus prior to its use, and a complicatedoperation procedure is required to start its operation. For this reason,since the supervisor is required of skills and expert knowledge, theload on the supervisor becomes heavy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of the abovesituation, and has as its object to provide a key telephone apparatuswith an automatic call distribution function, which can realize a simpleand compact arrangement, can reduce cost, and can greatly reduce theload on a supervisor by simplifying its operation, since it does notrequire any information management apparatus and its connection unit.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided akey telephone apparatus which comprises a plurality of extensionterminals each having a display, and a key telephone main unit whichaccommodates the plurality of extension terminals via extensions and isconnected to a network via an office line, and has an automatic calldistribution function of forming a group of the plurality of extensionterminals, and selectively distributing an incoming call received fromthe network to the plurality of extension terminals belonging to thegroup to receive the incoming call,

the key telephone main unit comprising:

processing condition management means for monitoring a processingcondition of the incoming call by the automatic call distributionfunction, and storing data indicating the processing condition; and

display control means for receiving a predetermined processing conditiondisplay request output from one of the plurality of extension terminals,generating display data for displaying the data indicating theprocessing condition stored in the processing condition managementmeans, and supplying the display data to the extension terminal as thedisplay request source to be displayed on the display of the extensionterminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a key telephoneapparatus with the ACD function according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detailed functional arrangement ofa central control unit in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the control procedure and the controlcontents of an operation monitor mode in the central control unit;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the control procedure and the controlcontents in the former half of an ACD total display mode in the centralcontrol unit;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the control procedure and the controlcontents in the latter half of the ACD total display mode in the centralcontrol unit;

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the memory map of a memory for storingvarious counts associated with ACD call termination in the embodimentshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining the memory map of a memory for storingACD call termination queue states and their queue times in units ofoffice lines in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining the display order and the display formatused when various counts, queue states, and queue times stored in thememories are displayed on a display of an extension terminal of asupervisor;

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the display format used when an agentreceives a call during the display operation of the queue time;

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining the display format used when anincoming call is stopped during the display operation of the queue time;

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining the layout of a display andvarious operation keys arranged on a key telephone set serving as anextension terminal; and

FIGS. 12A to 12C are views for explaining the display formats of adisplay in operations for performing log-in of a key telephone set tothe ACD function.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail belowwith reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows thearrangement of the overall digital key telephone apparatus to bedescribed in this embodiment. The digital key telephone apparatuscomprises a central control unit 1, a key telephone control unit 2, anoffice line control unit 3, and data and speech highways 4 and 5 fortransferring data and speech information among these units 1, 2, and 3.

Of these units, the key telephone control unit 2 is connected to aplurality of key telephone sets DKT1 to DKTn via extensions IL1 to ILn.The key telephone control unit 2 controls call origination andtermination of the key telephone sets DKT1 to DKTn on the basis of aninstruction output from the central control unit 1. Each of these keytelephone sets DKT1 to DKTn is a digital key telephone set, andcomprises a liquid crystal display DISP for displaying the telephonenumber of a station on the other end of the line and various kinds ofinformation output from the central control unit 1.

The office line control unit 3 is connected to subscribers lines SL1 toSLm of a public network (not shown) or extensions of a private branchexchange (to be generally referred to as office lines SL1 to SLmhereinafter). The office line control unit 3 controls call originationand termination with respect to the public network or the private branchexchange.

FIG. 2 shows the detailed functional arrangement of the central controlunit 1. The central control unit 1 is constituted by four controlsystems, i.e., a speech communication control system, a datatransmission control system, an office line/terminal control system, andan ACD control system. The speech communication control system comprisesa time switch (TSW) 11, a time switch controller 12, a speechcommunication controller 13, and a tone generator 14.

The speech communication control system exchanges speech datatransmitted on the speech highway 5 in such a manner that the timeswitch controller 12 controls the time switch 11 on the basis of aninstruction output from the speech communication controller 13. Notethat the tone generator 14 generates a tone signal used for informing,e.g., reception of an incoming call.

The data transmission control system is constituted by a datadetermination section 21, and a data output section 22. In this case,the data determination section 21 determines the type of datatransmitted on the data highway 4, and transfers the data to an officeline controller 23 or a terminal controller 26 (to be described later)on the basis of the determination result. The data output section 22outputs the data output from the office line controller 23 and theterminal controller 26 onto the data highway 4.

Furthermore, the office line/terminal control system is constituted bythe office line controller 23 with a data recognition section 23a, astate memory section 24 connected to the office line controller 23, afunction setting/memory section 25, the terminal controller 26 with adata recognition section 26a, and a state memory section 27 connected tothe terminal controller 26. Of these sections, the office linecontroller 23 is arranged to control the states of the office lines SL1to SLm. More specifically, in order to control the states of the officelines SL1 to SLm, the office line controller 23 recognizes the contentsof control data transferred from the data determination section 21 usingthe data recognition section 23a, generates required control data, andoutputs the data to the data output section 22. In this case, the statesof the office lines SL1 to SLm are stored in the state memory section24.

The terminal controller 26 is arranged to control the states of the keytelephone sets DKT1 to DKTn. More specifically, in order to control thestates of the key telephone sets DKT1 to DKTn, the terminal controller26 recognizes the contents of control data transferred from the datadetermination section 21 using the data recognition section 26a,generates required control data, and outputs the data to the data outputsection 22, like in the office line controller 23. In this case, thestates of the key telephone sets DKT1 to DKTn are stored in the statememory section 27. Note that the function setting/memory section 25stores data indicating whether or not the ACD function is set for theoffice lines SL1 to SLm.

The ACD control system is constituted by an ACD function controller 31,an ACD state memory section 32 connected to the ACD function controller31, a count memory section 33 for storing an ACD termination count, aqueue time controller 34 for measuring an ACD termination queue time, anincoming line controller 35 for controlling ACD-terminated office linesSL1 to SLm, a supervisor controller 36, a speech communication totaldisplay controller 37, a state display controller 38, a display datagenerator 39, an agent controller 40, and a state memory section 41 forstoring the state of an agent.

The ACD operation of the digital key telephone apparatus with theabove-mentioned arrangement will be explained below. Assume that anincoming call is received from the public network via one of the officelines SL1 to SLm in a standby state. The incoming call is detected bythe office line control unit 3, and is informed to the office linecontroller 23 of the central control unit 1 via the data highway 4. Theoffice line controller 23 checks if one, through which the incoming callis received, of the office lines SL1 to SLm is an ACD-registered officeline. If the office line through which the incoming call is received isan ACD-registered office line, a message indicating this is informed tothe ACD function controller 31.

In this case, the ACD function controller 31 supplies a messageindicating that an incoming call is generated on an ACD-registeredoffice line to the incoming line controller 35. The incoming linecontroller 35 increments the ACD call termination count stored in thecount memory section 33, and stores the incremented ACD call terminationcount in the count memory section 33. The ACD function controller 31instructs the agent controller 40 to execute ACD call terminationcontrol, so that the agent of an ACD-registered extension receives thecall.

The agent controller 40 searches for an extension of an agent which canreceive the call. If the detected extension is ACD-registered, the agentcontroller 40 supplies an instruction to the terminal controller 26 viathe ACD function controller 31 to control the extension to receive thecall. As a result, the terminal controller 26 generates a calltermination signal. The call termination signal is transferred from thedata output section 22 to the key telephone sets DKT1 to DKTn of theagent via the data highway 4. For this reason, the key telephone setsDKT1 to DKTn inform reception of an incoming call.

When the agent answers to the information, the answer response istransmitted to the ACD function controller 31 of the central controlunit 1 via the key telephone control unit 2, and is then transmittedfrom the ACD function controller 31 to the incoming line controller 35.The incoming line controller 35 increments the total value of ACD calltermination answer counts by the agent, and stores the incremented valuein the count memory section 33.

On the other hand, when the ACD function controller 31 determines thatit is impossible to attain ACD call termination for, e.g., the reasonthat the searched agent is not ACD-registered, the ACD functioncontroller 31 instructs the office line controller 23 to executepredetermined overflow processing, and this processing is executed. Inthis case, the ACD function controller 31 supplies informationindicating that non-ACD function processing is executed to the incomingline controller 35. The incoming line controller 35 increments the totalvalue of non-ACD function processing counts, and stores the incrementedvalue in the count memory section 33.

When the searched agent is ACD-registered but cannot receive the callfor, e.g., the reason that the agent is busy, the ACD functioncontroller 31 instructs the incoming line controller 35 to set theoffice line (incoming line) corresponding to the generated incoming callin a call termination queue state. In response to this instruction, theincoming line controller 35 sets the incoming line in the calltermination queue state, and controls the queue time controller 34 tobegin measurement of the queue time.

Thereafter, when the ACD function controller 31 recognizes that theagent is ready to receive the call, the ACD function controller 31instructs the incoming line controller 35 to execute call terminationprocessing. Thus, the incoming line controller 35 executes calltermination processing for the key telephone set as a call terminationdestination. Simultaneously with the execution of the call terminationprocessing, the incoming line controller 35 controls the queue timecontroller 34 to stop the measurement of the queue time.

When the supervisor monitors the execution condition of theabove-mentioned ACD function, a special operation for requesting aspeech communication total display must be performed using theACD-registered key telephone set. When this special operation isperformed, as shown in FIG. 3, the control of the ACD functioncontroller 31 advances from the processing in step 3a to the processingin step 3b, and the key telephone set at which the special operation wasperformed is set in an ACD speech communication total display mode.Thereafter, an ACD speech communication total display operation isexecuted.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show the control procedure and control contents of the anACD speech communication total display operation. In step 4a, the ACDfunction controller 31 reads out the current ACD call termination count,the ACD call termination answer count by the agent, the non-ACD functionprocessing count, and the current ACD call termination queue state linecount from the count memory section 33, and supplies these count dataand a display data generation instruction to the display data generator39 via the speech communication total display controller 37. Note thatthe count memory section 33 stores the ACD call termination count, theACD call termination answer count by the agent, the non-ACD functionprocessing count, and the current ACD call termination queue state linecount using the memory map shown in FIG. 6.

The ACD call termination count, the agent ACD call termination responsecount, the non-ACD call termination processing count, and the ACD calltermination queue state line count shown in FIG. 6 are defined asfollows.

ACD Call Termination Count:

a call termination processing count by the system for the ACD functionon the basis of the function setting (regardless of the response ornon-response by the agent).

Agent ACD Call Termination Response Count:

a call termination response (processing) count by the agent upon calltermination processing to the agent by the ACD function.

Non-ACD Call Termination Processing Count:

a non-ACD functional processing count by the system without any calltermination response by the agent although ACD call terminationprocessing is performed (including a processing count which is discardedby the sender during the queue state of call termination to the agent).

ACD Call Termination Queue State Line Count:

a line count representing lines waiting for call termination since atarget agent is in a queue state or the like to disable immediate calltermination although ACD call termination processing is performed.

The display data generator 39 generates initial screen data fordisplaying the respective count data, and transfers this display data tothe terminal controller 26. The display data is supplied from theterminal controller 26 to the key telephone set, at which the specialoperation was performed, via the data output section 22, and isdisplayed on the liquid crystal display DISP of the key telephone set.Therefore, the supervisor can confirm the execution condition of the ACDfunction on the basis of the count data displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay DISP of the key telephone set.

When the ACD call termination count, for example, changes during thedisplay operation of the count data, the control of the ACD functioncontroller 31 returns from the processing in step 4b to the processingin step 4a. More specifically, the ACD function controller 31 instructsthe speech communication total display controller 37 to update (refresh)the displayed contents. The speech communication total displaycontroller 37 reads out new count data from the count memory section 33,and transfers them to the display data generator 39. The display datagenerator 39 generates updated display screen data on the basis of theinput new count data. The updated display screen data is supplied fromthe terminal controller 26 to the key telephone set, at which thespecial operation was performed, via the data output section 22, and isdisplayed on the liquid crystal display DISP of the key telephone set.Therefore, the supervisor can always confirm the latest count data.

When the supervisor wants to know the condition of the call terminationqueue lines in more detail, the supervisor executes a display changingoperation at the key telephone set. The ACD function controller 31detects this display changing operation in step 4c, and its controladvances to the processing in step 4e. In step 4e, the controller 31confirms the presence of any call termination queue lines. When thepresence of any call termination queue lines is confirmed, the ACDfunction controller 31 instructs the supervisor controller 36 to changethe display mode. In response to the display mode changing instruction,the supervisor controller 36 fetches the office line numbers in the calltermination queue state from the incoming line controller 35 via the ACDfunction controller 31, and outputs a display instruction of dataassociated with the call termination queue lines to the speechcommunication total display controller 37 via the ACD functioncontroller 31.

Upon reception of this display instruction, the speech communicationtotal display controller 37 supplies the call termination queue linenumbers to the queue time controller 34 in step 5a to read out theoffice line number of the office line corresponding to the longest queuetime and its queue time from the queue time controller 34. For example,assume that the queue time controller 34 is measuring the calltermination queue times of the respective office lines, as shown in FIG.7. In this state, since the office line number SL1 is determined as theoffice line corresponding to the longest queue time, the office linenumber SL1 and its queue time data "15 seconds" are read out from thequeue time controller 34.

Thereafter, in step 5b, the speech communication total displaycontroller 37 switches a display ON flag corresponding to the determinedoffice line number SL1 among the queue time data held in the queue timecontroller 34 to the ON state, as shown in FIG. 7. The speechcommunication total display controller 37 transfers data indicating theoffice line number SL1 and its queue time to the display data generator39 in step 5c. The display data generator 39 generates display screendata for displaying the above data, and transfers this display screendata to the terminal controller 26. For this reason, the display screendata is supplied to the key telephone set of the supervisor via the dataoutput section 22, and is displayed on the liquid crystal display DISPof the key telephone set.

Assume that the supervisor performs another display changing operationduring the display operation of the data associated with the calltermination queue lines. The ACD function controller 31 detects thisoperation in step 5d, and its control advances to the processing in step5i. More specifically, the ACD function controller 31 switches thedisplay ON flag, which corresponds to the office line number SL1 and hasbeen switched to the ON state, to the OFF state. Thereafter, the ACDfunction controller 31 checks in step 5j all the office lines in thecall termination queue state if the display operations of dataindicating their office line numbers and their queue times arecompleted.

If any non-displayed office line remains, the control of the ACDfunction controller 31 returns to the processing in step 5a. In step 5a,the speech communication total display controller 37 selects the officeline corresponding to the second longest queue time from the queue timecontroller 34, and reads out the office line number and queue time ofthe selected office line. Then, the controller 37 outputs these data tothe display data generator 39. The display data generator 39 generatesdisplay screen data for displaying the input data, and transfers thedisplay screen data to the terminal controller 26. Thus, the displayscreen data is supplied from the terminal controller 26 to the keytelephone set of the supervisor via the data output section 22, and isdisplayed on the liquid crystal display DISP of the key telephone set.

Thereafter, each time the supervisor performs a display changingoperation at the key telephone set, data of the office line number andits queue time are read out from the queue time controller 34 in unitsof longer queue time, are supplied to the key telephone set, and aredisplayed on the liquid crystal display DISP. Therefore, when there area plurality of office lines in the call termination queue state, thesupervisor can confirm the office line numbers and their queue times inthe queue state which are scroll-displayed in the order of longer queuetimes by executing the display changing operation at the key telephoneset. When the liquid crystal display DISP has a large display capacity,data of a plurality of office lines in the call termination queue statecan be simultaneously displayed.

Since the call termination queue time changes every moment, the controlof the speech communication total display controller 37 returns from theprocessing in step 5g to the processing in step 5d at a predeterminedtime interval during the display operation of the queue time associatedwith one call termination queue line, and the controller 37 updates thevalue of the displayed queue time. When the queue state of the linecorresponding to the displayed queue time is canceled, the control ofthe ACD function controller 31 advances from the processing in step 5fto the processing in step 5h.

More specifically, the ACD function controller 31 controls the incomingline controller 35 to clear the queue time of the corresponding officeline stored in the queue time controller 34. The ACD function controller31 supplies state change information to the speech communication totaldisplay controller 37. Upon reception of this information, the speechcommunication total display controller 37 instructs the display datagenerator 39 to display a changed state. For this reason, state changedisplay data is supplied to the key telephone set of the supervisor, andis displayed on the liquid crystal display DISP of the key telephoneset.

In this manner, when the display operations of data associated with allthe call termination queue lines are completed, the control of the ACDfunction controller 31 returns from the processing in step 5j to theprocessing in step 4a, and executes a display operation of ACD calltermination total data as initial screen data. When the supervisorperforms a display end operation at the key telephone set in the displaystate of the ACD call termination total data, the control of the ACDfunction controller 31 advances from the processing in step 5e to theprocessing in step 5k, and the controller 31 cancels the total displaymode set in the key telephone set, thus ending the control in a seriesof ACD total display modes.

FIG. 8 shows examples of the displayed contents on the liquid crystaldisplay DISP when the supervisor performs a special operation forrequesting a speech communication total display operation at a keytelephone set. When this special operation is performed, the keytelephone set is set in the ACD speech communication total display mode.The liquid crystal display DISP simultaneously displays an ACD calltermination count CLC, an ACD call termination answer count ANS, anon-ACD function processing count OTR, and an ACD call termination queueline count CLW, as shown in display pattern 1 in FIG. 8. In the exampleshown in FIG. 8, CLC=40, ANS=25, OTR=10, and CLW=5.

When the supervisor performs the display changing operation in theabove-mentioned display state of the count data, the liquid crystaldisplay DISP is switched to display the office line number, LINE001, ofan office line corresponding to the longest call termination queue timeand its queue time "00:05:30", as shown in display pattern 2 in FIG. 8.Thereafter, the liquid crystal display DISP sequentially displays dataof the office line numbers in the queue state and queue times in theorder of longer queue time every time the supervisor performs a displaychanging operation. When the supervisor performs another displaychanging operation in a state wherein the office line number, LINE040,of an office line corresponding to the shortest call termination queuetime and its queue time "00:01:15" are displayed, as shown in displaypattern m in FIG. 8, the display state of the liquid crystal displayDISP is returned to that shown in display pattern 1.

For example, when the office line is set in the agent call terminationstate in a state wherein the office line number LINE001 and its queuetime "00:05:30" are displayed, as shown in, e.g., display pattern 1, thedisplay state of the liquid crystal display DISP is switched to the oneshown in FIG. 9, and information indicating that the call termination isattained and the queue time measured are displayed. Furthermore, whenthe office line is set in a call stop state in a state wherein theoffice line number LINE001 and its queue time "00:05:30" are displayed,as shown in, e.g., display pattern 1, the display state of the liquidcrystal display DISP is switched to the one shown in FIG. 10, andinformation indicating that the call termination is canceled and thequeue time measured are displayed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the control system forthe ACD total display operation, which includes the ACD functioncontroller 31 as a main section, is arranged in the central controlunit 1. Every time an ACD incoming call is received, the calltermination count, the incoming call answer count by the agent, the calltermination queue state line count, and the like are stored, and when adisplay request is input from the key telephone set, the stored countdata are transferred to the key telephone set to display the data on theliquid crystal display DISP. Furthermore, when a display changingoperation is performed at the key telephone set in this state, thenumber and queue time of the call termination queue line are transferredto the key telephone set to be displayed thereon.

For this reason, the supervisor can confirm data representing theprocessing condition of the ACD function on the liquid crystal displayDISP of an arbitrary key telephone set. Thus, since an independentinformation management apparatus need not be connected to the main unitof the key telephone apparatus via a special-purpose connection unitunlike in the conventional apparatus, a simple and compact systemarrangement of the key telephone apparatus can be realized, and its costcan also be reduced. Since no complicated start operation of theapparatus is required unlike in a case wherein the informationmanagement apparatus is used, the load of the operation on thesupervisor can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, even a supervisor whohas neither skills nor expert knowledge can easily use the key telephoneapparatus.

FIG. 11 shows the outer appearance of the key telephone set. A key 42 isassigned as a display change key. More specifically, when the key 42 isoperated in a state wherein information representing, e.g., a line in acall termination queue state is displayed on a liquid crystal displayDISP, the display change operation shown in FIG. 8 is performed. Whenthe key telephone set is set in a normal mode, the key 42 has anotherfunction.

An operation for performing log-in of the key telephone set in thenormal mode to the ACD function as the agent or supervisor will bedescribed below. During the normal queue state of the key telephone set,a LOG IN key 43 or an extension key 44 is operated, and a special dial(e.g., #4031) is input. The key telephone set is then set in a passwordinput queue state, and a message shown in FIG. 12A is displayed on theliquid crystal display DISP.

When a password is input to the key telephone set, the terminalcontroller 26 compares the input password with the supervisor or agentpassword prestored in the function setting/memory section 25. As aresult of this comparison, when the ACD log-in as the agent isconfirmed, the terminal controller 26 informs the ACD functioncontroller 31 of the agent log-in, and a message shown in FIG. 12B isdisplayed on the liquid crystal display DISP of the log-in key telephoneset. As a result of the above comparison, if ACD function log-in as thesupervisor is confirmed, the terminal controller 26 informs the ACDfunction controller 31 of the supervisor log-in to ACD function, and amessage shown in FIG. 12C is displayed on the liquid crystal displayDISP of the log-in key telephone set.

If the log-in is of an agent, the ACD function controller 31 havingreceived the information representing log-in to the ACD function informsthe agent controller 40 of the agent log-in, and the agent state isstored in the state memory section 41. If the log-in is of a supervisor,the ACD function controller 31 informs the supervisor controller 36 ofthe supervisor log-in. By the above operations, the corresponding keytelephone set operates on the ACD function in accordance with a log-instate.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, andvarious changes and modifications may be made within the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A key telephone apparatus which comprises aplurality of extension terminals, at least one of which has a built-indisplay, and a key-telephone main unit housing the plurality ofextension terminals via extensions and connected to a network via anoffice line, and which has a call distribution function of grouping theplurality of extension terminals and selectively distributing incomingcalls received from the network to the plurality of extension terminalsbelonging to groups to receive the incoming calls,said key telephonemain unit having:processing condition management means for monitoring aprocessing condition of the incoming calls distributed by said automaticcall distribution function, and storing data indicating the processingcondition for each extension terminal; and display control means forreceiving a predetermined processing condition display request outputfrom an arbitrary extension terminal included in the plurality ofextension terminals constituting a group, generating display data fordisplaying the data which is requested with the processing conditiondisplay request and thus retrieved from the data indicating theprocessing condition and stored in said processing condition managementmeans, and supplying the display data to said arbitrary extensionterminal so that the display data is displayed on the built-in displayof said arbitrary extension terminal.
 2. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said processing condition management means includes afunction of measuring a call termination queue time of an incoming callwhen the incoming call is set in a call termination queue state by saidcall distribution function.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 2,wherein said display control means is switched to sequentially displayoffice line numbers and queue times thereof in the order of longer calltermination queue times measured by said processing condition managementmeans every time a display changing operation is performed for theextension terminal as the display request source.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein every time processing for a new incomingcall is performed by said call distribution function, said processingcondition management means updates the stored data indicating theprocessing condition in correspondence with the processing contents. 5.The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the stored contents ofsaid processing condition management means are updated during a displayoperation, said display control means generates display data on thebasis of the updated new stored contents.
 6. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said processing condition management means includes afunction of totalizing processing counts of incoming calls by said calldistribution function in units of processing contents and storing thetotal data, and a function of measuring a call termination queue time ofan incoming call when the incoming call is set in a call terminationqueue state by said call distribution function, andsaid display controlmeans is alternately switched between a mode for displaying the totaldata totalized by said processing condition management means and a modefor displaying the call termination queue time measured by saidprocessing condition management means every time a display changingoperation is performed for the extension terminal as the display requestsource.
 7. The key telephone apparatus according to claim 1, whereinsaid arbitrary extension terminal includes:first key input means forsetting said arbitrary extension terminal in a password input state;second key input means for inputting a password when said arbitraryextension terminal is set in a password input state by the first keyinput means; and comparing means for comparing the password input by thesecond key input means with a preset password, and p1 said arbitraryextension terminal allows said processing condition display request tobe output when said comparing means determines that the password matcheswith the preset password.
 8. The key telephone apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein the display built in said arbitrary extension terminalswitches between a first display mode indicating that said arbitraryextension terminal is set in the password input state and a seconddisplay mode indicating that a result of comparison is being provided bysaid comparing means.
 9. A key telephone apparatus which comprises aplurality of extension terminals, at least one of which has a built-indisplay, and a key telephone main unit housing the plurality ofextension terminals via extensions and connected to a network via anoffice line, and which has a call distribution function of grouping theplurality of extension terminals and selectively distributing incomingcalls received from the network to the plurality of extension terminalsbelonging to groups to receive the incoming calls,said key telephonemain unit having:processing condition management means for storing dataindicating the number of incoming calls distributed by said calldistribution function; and display control means for receiving apredetermined processing condition display request output from anarbitrary extension terminal included in the plurality of extensionterminals constituting a group, generating display data for displayingthe data indicating the number of incoming calls which is stored by saidprocessing condition management means, and supplying the display data tosaid arbitrary extension terminal so that the display data is displayedon the built-in display of said arbitrary extension terminal.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 9, wherein every time processing for a newincoming call is performed by said call distribution function, saidprocessing condition management means updates the stored data indicatingthe processing condition in correspondence with the processing contents.11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said processingcondition management means includes a function of totalizing processingcounts of incoming calls by said call distribution function in units ofprocessing contents and storing the total data, and a function ofmeasuring a call termination queue time of an incoming call when theincoming call is set in a call termination queue state by said calldistribution function, andsaid display control means is alternatelyswitched between a mode for displaying the total data totalized by saidprocessing condition management means and a mode for displaying the calltermination queue time measured by said processing condition managementmeans every time a display changing operation is performed for theextension terminal as the display request source.
 12. A key telephoneapparatus which comprises a plurality of extension terminals, at leastone of which has a built-in display, and a key telephone main unithousing the plurality of extension terminals via extensions andconnected to a network via an office line, and which has a calldistribution function of grouping the plurality of extension terminalsand selectively distributing incoming calls received from the network tothe plurality of extension terminals belonging to groups to receive theincoming calls,said key telephone main unit having:processing conditionmanagement means for storing data indicating the number of answers tothe incoming calls distributed by said call distribution function; anddisplay control means for receiving a predetermined processing conditiondisplay request output from an arbitrary extension terminal included inthe plurality of extension terminals constituting a group, generatingdisplay data for displaying the data indicating the number of answerswhich is stored by said processing condition management means, andsupplying the display data to said arbitrary extension terminal so thatthe display data is displayed on the built-in display of said arbitraryextension terminal.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, whereinevery time processing for a new incoming call is performed by said calldistribution function, said processing condition management meansupdates the stored data indicating the processing condition incorrespondence with the processing contents.
 14. The apparatus accordingto claim 12, wherein said processing condition management means includesa function of totalizing processing counts of incoming calls by saidcall distribution function in units of processing contents and storingthe total data, and a function of measuring a call termination queuetime of an incoming call when the incoming call is set in a calltermination queue state by said call distribution function, andsaiddisplay control means is alternately switched between a mode fordisplaying the total data totalized by said processing conditionmanagement means and a mode for displaying the call termination queuetime measured by said processing condition management means every time adisplay changing operation is performed for the extension terminal asthe display request source.
 15. A key telephone apparatus whichcomprises a plurality of extension terminals, at least one of which hasa built-in display, and a key telephone main unit housing the pluralityof extension terminals via extensions and connected to a network via anoffice line, and which has a call distribution function of grouping theplurality of extension terminals and selectively distributing incomingcalls received from the network to the plurality of extension terminalsbelonging to groups to receive the incoming calls,said key telephonemain unit having:processing condition management means for storing dataindicating the number of times of processing incoming calls other thanthe incoming calls distributed by said call distribution function;display control means for receiving a predetermined processing conditiondisplay request output from an arbitrary extension terminal included inthe plurality of extension terminals constituting a group, generatingdisplay data for displaying the data indicating the number of the timesof processing which is stored by said processing condition managementmeans, and supplying the display data to said arbitrary extensionterminal so that the display data is displayed on the built-in displayof said arbitrary extension terminal.
 16. The apparatus according toclaim 15, wherein every time processing for a new incoming call isperformed by said call distribution function, said processing conditionmanagement means updates the stored data indicating the processingcondition in correspondence with the processing contents.
 17. Theapparatus according to claim 15, wherein said processing conditionmanagement means includes a function of totalizing processing counts ofincoming calls by said call distribution function in units of processingcontents and storing the total data, and a function of measuring a calltermination queue time of an incoming call when the incoming call is setin a call termination queue state by said call distribution function,andsaid display control means is alternately switched between a mode fordisplaying the total data totalized by said processing conditionmanagement means and a mode for displaying the call termination queuetime measured by said processing condition management means every time adisplay changing operation is performed for the extension terminal asthe display request source.
 18. A key telephone apparatus whichcomprises a plurality of extension terminals, at least one of which hasa built-in display, and a key telephone main unit housing the pluralityof extension terminals via extensions and connected to a network via anoffice line, and which has a call distribution function of grouping theplurality of extension terminals and selectively distributing incomingcalls received from the network to the plurality of extension terminalsbelonging to groups to receive the incoming calls,said key telephonemain unit having:processing condition management means for storing dataindicating the number of office lines set in a call termination queuestate by said call distribution function; and display control means forreceiving a predetermined processing condition display request outputfrom an arbitrary extension terminal included in the plurality ofextension terminals constituting a group, generating display data fordisplaying the data indicating the number of office lines which isstored by said processing condition management means, and supplying thedisplay data to said arbitrary extension terminal so that the displaydata is displayed on the built-in display of said arbitrary extensionterminal.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein every timeprocessing for a new incoming call is performed by said calldistribution function, said processing condition management meansupdates the stored data indicating the processing condition incorrespondence with the processing contents.
 20. The apparatus accordingto claim 18, wherein said processing condition management means includesa function of totalizing processing counts of incoming calls by saidcall distribution function in units of processing contents and storingthe total data, and a function of measuring a call termination queuetime of an incoming call when the incoming call is set in a calltermination queue state by said call distribution function, andsaiddisplay control means is alternately switched between a mode fordisplaying the total data totalized by said processing conditionmanagement means and a mode for displaying the call termination queuetime measured by said processing condition management means every time adisplay changing operation is performed for the extension terminal asthe display request source.
 21. A key telephone apparatus whichcomprises a plurality of extension terminals, at least one of which hasa built-in display, and a key telephone main unit housing the pluralityof extension terminals via extensions and connected to a network via anoffice line, and which has a call distribution function of grouping theplurality of extension terminals and selectively distributing incomingcalls received from the network to the plurality of extension terminalsbelonging to groups to receive the incoming calls,said key telephonemain unit having:processing condition management means for storing dataindicating an office line number of an incoming call which is set in anagent call termination queue state by said call distribution functionand data indicating a call termination queue time of the incoming call;first display control means for receiving a predetermined processingcondition display request output from an arbitrary extension terminalincluded in the plurality of extension terminals constituting a group,generating display data for displaying the data indicating the officeline number and the data indicating the call termination queue timewhich are stored by said processing condition management means, andsupplying the display data to said arbitrary extension terminal so thatthe display data is displayed on the built-in display of said arbitraryextension terminal; and second display control means for switching thedisplay data to data which indicates a call termination being made and atotal call termination queue time of the incoming call when said officeline is changed into an agent call termination state while the firstdisplay control means is displaying the office line number of the officeline set in the call termination queue state and the call terminationqueue time on the built-in display of said arbitrary extension terminal.22. The apparatus according to claim 21, wherein every time processingfor a new incoming call is performed by said call distribution function,said processing condition management means updates the stored dataindicating the processing condition in correspondence with theprocessing contents.
 23. A key telephone apparatus which comprises aplurality of extension terminals, at least one of which has a built-indisplay, and a key telephone main unit housing the plurality ofextension terminals via extensions and connected to a network via anoffice line and which has a call distribution function of grouping theplurality of extension terminals and selectively distributing incomingcalls received from the network to the plurality of extension terminalsbelonging to groups to receive the incoming calls,said key telephonemain unit having:processing condition management means for storing dataindicating an office line number of an incoming call which is set in anagent call termination queue state by said call distribution functionand a call termination queue time of the incoming call; first displaycontrol means for receiving a predetermined processing condition displayrequest output from an arbitrary extension terminal included in theplurality of extension terminals consisting a group, generating displaydata for displaying the data indicating the office line number and thedata indicating the call termination queue time which are stored by saidprocessing condition management means, and supplying the display data tosaid arbitrary extension terminal so that the display data is displayedon the built-in display of said arbitrary extension terminal; and seconddisplay control means for switching the display data to data whichindicates a call termination being canceled and a total call terminationqueue time of the incoming call when said office line is changed into acall stop state while the first display control means is displaying theoffice line number of the office line set in the call termination queuestate and the call termination queue time on the built-in display ofsaid arbitrary extension terminal.
 24. The apparatus according to claim23, wherein every time processing for a new incoming call is performedby said call distribution function, said processing condition managementmeans updates the stored data indicating the processing condition incorrespondence with the processing contents.